BILLY Hamill and Greg Hancock will have to reassess their Grand Prix priorities after another futile World Championship round in Denmark on Saturday night.

Challenging for the title is no longer the main aim for the two Whale Toyota Bees stars - instead they must now target a place in the top 10 if they are to avoid having to fight for their futures in the cut-throat GP Challenge meeting in Slovenia in October.

Tony Rickardsson's second successive Grand Prix victory leapfrogged him into the lead over Tomasz Gollob, with the super Swede now seven points to the good in his bid for a fourth World title.

But while Rickardsson (66 points) and Gollob (59) dominate, Hancock (19) and Hamill (12) remain in perilous territory below the cut-off point for automatic inclusion in the 2002 series after again failing to make the semi-finals.

Hancock is currently 13th - three places and four points adrift of the frame - and Hamill is even worse off in 20th place.

Hamill, a 15-point maximum man for Zielona Gora in their 47-43 Polish League win over Wroclaw yesterday, again missed the cut for the Main Event when he was eliminated in third place behind Hans Clausen and Hancock in heat nine.

He had run a third behind ex-Bees skipper Brian Andersen and Jesper B. Jensen in heat one after drifting wide, but had bounced back to win heat five to find himself up against Hancock in heat nine, an eliminator race.

Hancock had started with a second when he passed Matty Ferjan in heat four, but then came in third behind Nicki Pedersen and Leigh Adams in heat seven.

Facing Hamill and Hancock in nine were two Danes, Clausen and Jensen, and though the two Americans gated to lead down the back-straight, Clausen exploited a gap around the outside and it left Hamill third and out.

Hancock survived into the last 16, but not for long as the Main Event got the pulses racing.

The sparks flew when Mark Loram was excluded when he came down on the outside of Nicki Pedersen in the second running of heat 11.

The defending World Champion was apparently not informed of the decision and vainly tried to return to the track, aiming a kick at the closed pit gate when he was unable to do so.

Heat 12 produced more authentic sparks when Grzegorz Walasek, an impressive winner of his first two races, lurched into Jimmy Nilsen from behind to send the Swede crashing.

Nilsen's machine was sent spinning into orbit and it only narrowly missed the Belle Vue skipper as it bounced spectacularly back towards terra firma.

Hancock had already stopped with machinery failure on the first two turns prior to the drama, so he went into heat 15 off the unproductive outside gate, and knowing that his Grand Prix challenge for this year was on the line.

The first running ended with Hancock in the fence after being carved up by the over-combative Rune Holta, and in the re-run he was left trailing at the back behind Todd Wiltshire, Holta and Clausen.

Though he made every effort to stay in touch, he dropped his machine as he tried to drive too sharply under Clausen off the fourth turn.

Loram departed in the next race but all the top four placed riders after the first two rounds reached the semi-finals, and Rick-ardsson, Gollob and Crump all made the final again.

Rickardsson surprised Gollob right on the line in the first semi-final but it was no surprise when the masterful Poole ace, starting off the inside grid for the fourth time on the night, made it four straight wins in the final.